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Similar Brussels Park, Parc, Botanique, Mont des Arts Garden, Egmont Palace | ||
The Maalbeekdaltuin (Dutch) or Jardin de la vallée du Maelbeek (French) is a small green space on the corner of the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat and Chaussé d'Etterbeek/Etterbeeksesteenweg at the heart of the European Quarter of Brussels (Belgium). It was inaugurated on 13 May 1951.
The park is testimony to the local resident's struggle against the rapid urbanisation (see Brusselization) in the quarter that lacked urban planning and new green spaces. The site was originally destined to be used for a new headquarters for the Council of the European Union (which eventually moved into the Justus Lipsius building across the road) but in the face of unanimous opposition the Belgian government tried to sell, what was then a temporary car park, it to property developers before it was converted into a local park.
As well as acting as a symbol of the quarter's urbanisation, a miniature river reflects the Maelbeek river which once flowed through the area, but is now channelled through an underground collector.